Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works 1994 – 2015

… doesn’t exist. But as many of you know, a shed-load of tracks have been uploaded to Soundcloud by RDJ – totalling longer than his entire official discography, here.

I spent some time putting my favourite tracks in the style of SAW into one playlist below. There’s parallels to SAW II and the likes of Blue Calx with Red Calx, and more IDM based track we witnessed on SAW 85-92 with Chink 101 and my favourite, nocares.

I think any Aphex Twin fan will agree, some of these are absolutely brilliant and could easily live as a third edition to the SAW series. That’s probably not going to happen anytime soon, especially now Aphex is a Grammy-award winning artist – colab’s with Lady Ga Ga are just days away… (please don’t Richard).

Each track is downloadable, and there’s plenty of people out there making it easy for you, alongside the amazing RDJ geeks putting Google Docs together detailing every detail on each of the tracks.

Markus Guentner - Mix Archive

Markus Guentner – Golden Fall Mix

Not what you’re expecting from Markus, but for those not hemmed by genre this is a stunning detroit techno / deep house mix. Love it when ambient artists come out of their comfort zone, but then again, as shown with many of Markus’ recent remixes (such as his remix of Norge on Uncharted Places) he does like to stray into beat-heavy productions sometimes. This must be at least some of his inspiration right here.

Download.

Markus Guentner – Sgustok Magazine Podcast 007

After numerous contributions to the Kompakt Pop Ambient Series and last years ‘Doppelgaenger’ album release on Sending Orbs (home of Kettel and Yagya), Markus Guentner prepares a hypnotic dive into his trademark atmospheric ambient for Sgustok Magazine.

It goes without saying, fans of the Pop Ambient series will love this mix, as well as those that enjoyed the simple, looping warm synths, gentle textures and airy pads within the recent ‘Traumbient’ mix. Containing all his own productions, the mix manages to maintain a perfect amount of variety between the tracks and a subtle progression throughout – one to press play, sit back and get lost in.

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01. Opening
02. Babel
03. The Right Sight
04. Borders
05. Ocean Scene
06. Sunrise Begins
07. Rotation Of Stars
08. Beneath The Grass
09. Subway
10. Field
11. Certain Pattern
12. Ending

Markus Guentner - Fuselab Passage 12

The last mix featured on ASIP by Markus Guentner was a homage to some of his releases over the years on compilations such as Pop Ambient. This time around, Markus compiles some of his favourites for FUSELab with tracks from Kompakt label mates Klimek and Popnoname, ambient/post-rock maestros Hammock, king of lush bvdub and Rafael Anton Irisarri’s more techno orientated alter ego, The Sight Below.

Download.

Tracklisting
01. Aitokaiku – Verhot3
02. Chris mcnamara – Sleeping Car, Shunting Yard
03. Shuttle 358 – Tank
04. Markus Guentner – Keep Your Eyes Closed
05. The American Dollar – Starscapes2
06. Klimek – Sunrise
07. Kevin Shields – Goodbye
08. Hammock – When The Sky Pours Down Like A Fountain
09. Bvdub – Lest You Forget
10. Dettinger – Therefore
11. Markus Guentner – In Moll 2
12. Popnoname – Nightliner
13. Markus Guentner feat. La Grande Illusion – Baghira
14. The Sight Below – Shimmer

ASIPV002 – Europe Vinyl Case

Kevin Bryce has once again been hard at work putting together something very special for our vinyl release, Europe. Similar to his custom CD cases for Uncharted Places, the electronica artist turned his skills to the woodwork studio to surpass all expectations and create a unique piece of art to accompany our second vinyl release.

Made with Walnut, finished with Natural Tung Oil and featuring Bubinga, Coca Bola and Koa wood inlay segments, each one is unique and has taken months to hand-craft.

“I (Kevin) used a Zenbot CNC machine to do the engraving and inlay cutting, and then finished the case by hand and gave it several coats of Tung oil. Tung oil is a natural oil from the nut of the Tung tree. It is an environmentally friendly wood finish and it is my favourite as it brings a warm lustre to woods like this one, – Walnut. It usually comes in two ways, one with mineral spirits to speed the drying process, and one completely natural. These cases were completed with 100% natural Tung oil, meaning it took an extra few days to dry, but the upside is, it should be safe to eat off of should you choose to do so!”

The design was conceived by my friend Nick Brzostowski and represents the ten tracks included on Europe. My brief to him was to represent the ten tracks in a very simple, striking way that would integrate with Kevin’s woodwork. Nick ended up with this beautiful geometric approach, pin-pointing the areas the tracks were inspired by, and connecting the design back to the four corners of the globe, alongside my home, Portland, Oregon. We ended up with a truly global effort; from Kevin in the Fraser Valley of Vancouver, to Nick in London, myself in Portland and all of the artists featured on the release across Europe.

There will be just five of these special edition Europe vinyl cases available, going on sale on Sunday February 1st 2015 at 11am PST, 7pm GMT via the ASIP Bandcamp Page. They will be priced at $200 plus postage (postage is unfortunately expensive to anywhere outside of the USA). The price still doesn’t do the many hours that went into this product justice, but I want to make sure that Kevin can at least recoup his material costs and continue his trade ready for our next release. A big thank-you to Kevin Bryce for his relentless perfectionism and dedication on this project.

More details on the vinyl and digital release of ASIPV002 Europe, available here.

isolatedmix 51 - Kiyoko

With just one album and two EP’s to their name so far, Jack Lever and Joe McBride are just at the beginning of their journey together asKiyoko, but setting a ridiculously high standard from the off. Individually, the duo’s productions have spread far and wide as Synkro (Joe) and Bering Strait (Jack) on labels such as Apollo, Auxiliary, and D-Bridge’s label, Exit Records. Together they each bring something rather special to the party which has entertained the ears of many of us from the very beginning (with their debut album, Sea of Trees) and has left us itching for whatever’s next around the corner.

Kiyoko’s unique approach defies the genre boundaries many people stick to nowadays. Their productions are refined and seem stripped down to the very core of what makes us tick. Playing on the origins of drum’n bass and incorporating the slow-burning melodies and euphoria of atmospheric ambient music, subtle samples and neat beat-work add an often unexpected addictive twist to their productions.

The northern-English duo are a little elusive on the mix front too. Since their mix for Finest Ego in 2012, I’ve had them on my isolatedmix wishlist; it was perfectly mixed, key-considerate and a true reflection of their inspirations. Isolatedmix 51 takes it one step further, and will once again go down as one of my favourite mixes in a very long time.

Looking ahead, their debut album Sea Of Trees is finally getting a vinyl-press through Auxiliary. But until that special day, sit back and escape with the duo’s inspirational isolatedmix. And if you’re new to either of them, check out their individual productions as Synkro (his recent mix for i-D mag) and Bering Strait – undoubtedly two of today’s most exciting producers indivudally, and just as revered together as Kiyoko.

“The mix is a selection of some of our favorite ambient tracks from the past & present & we would like to say it is an honour to have a mix up alongside some of our favorite artists of all time (Helios, Arovane, ASC to name a few)”. (Kiyoko)

Download

Tracklist:

01. Oh, Yoko – Seashore (Instrumental Ver.2)
02. Kiyoko – Open
03. Xela – Impulsive Behaviour
04. Jon Hopkins – Open Eye Signal (Asleep Version)
05. Kiyoko – Archway
06. Move D – Rote Zone
07. Christ. – Discombobulate
08. Ian Hawgood – A Film By The Remote Viewer
09. Dania Shapes – December Waiting Room
10. Sad City – You Will Soon Find That Life Is Wonderful
11. Synkro – VII
12. Ambulance – Hydro Lines
13. Tangerine Dream – Remote Viewing
14. Bering Strait – Transmission 110 
15. Desolate – Imagination
16. Machinedrum – Vizion
17. Vatican Shadow – Whitewashed Compound Stealth Helicopter Crash
18. Kiyoko – Something To Think About
19. Muslimgauze – Old Arab Record Not On Compact Disc

Kiyoko on Facebook | Tumblr | Soundcloud | Twitter (Synkro) | Bering Strait

Passing by: Inventions, Sonitus Eco, Rafael Anton Irisarri, 36, Undisclosed

I’ve started 2015 by sinking my teeth into some awesome vinyl releases. Must be the bug, given ASIPV002 is out in just a few weeks (26th!) Only some kind of musical illness can excuse vinyl purchases straight after Christmas, even Biosphere is on the hunt to get his first ever album repressed over at Kickstarter.

Inventions – Maze of Woods

You may recall Inventions’ debut self-titled album last year after my review here, and longtime friends Matthew Cooper of Eluvium, and Mark T. Smith of Explosions In The Sky have just gone and surprised us with a new appealing limited vinyl release. Maze of Woods comes as a coloured double vinyl package, featuring a remix disc with none other than The Field on duty, and A Winged Victory For The Sullen’s very first remix, all on a clear/red wax. Available on Temporary Residence.

Sonitus Eco – The Light Between Oceans

Silent Season start the year strong with a vinyl release from Sonitus Eco, a deep and mystifying techno LP. Mastered by none other thanNeel, the driving force in the first track, Storegga Slide, haunts with a dirty undercurrent that reminds me of Biosphere’s N-Plants work a few years back. 100 blue Vinyl and 200 Black are available on Juno.

Rafael Anton Irisarri – Hopes and Past Desires (repress)

In January of 2009 Immune released the beautiful 12 minute 7″EP from Rafael Anton Irisarri titled Hopes and Past Desires. Originally released in an edition of 500 that has been sold out for years and is now getting a repress. Emotional strings and delicate sound design compliment each other in this must-have piece of vinyl. Available through Immune Recordings.

36 – Pulse Dive

The vinyl has already sold out unfortunately (a matter of hours) but that’s no excuse to not talk about great music. This is one of my favourites from Dennis, featuring a more energetic stance compared to his more renowned immersive ambient approach. The title track,Pulse Dive reminds me of a modern take on some early 70’s synth work, crossed with Global Communications infamous album, 74:16 with pinches of Petar Dundov’s more trance-inducing techno productions. Available on Bandcamp.

Undisclosed – Undisclosed

Last but not least, and a slight anomaly in the post (not a vinyl release – just yet anyway) is this mysterious EP titled Undisclosed. Conceived by our friend over at Headphone Commute, the EP is a gathering of likeminded artists looking to explore new production approaches – “the project allows each musician to explore a particular sonic territory, while remaining detached from all of the previous associations with their notable name”. Out on January 16th, we can be sure that the quality associated with HC will follow through on this release, and on on first listen, the site’s experimental and modern-classical ethos will shine through across the four elusive tracks. Available January 16th on Bandcamp.

Image taken on New Years Eve at Cape Kiwanda, OR – the last sunset of 2014 – ASIP.